Does Ellie find out Joel lied? Joel’s Confession to Ellie Explained – The Last of Us Part 2 

Joel and Ellie’s relationship in The Last of Us Part 2 feels pretty strained when compared to their relationship in the first game. Although the game starts off with a sweet and heartwarming cutscene, showing Joel teaching Ellie to play a guitar, their relationship becomes more complex as the game goes on.  

This is due to the fact that Joel had been lying to Ellie about the potential cure. Near the end of the first game, Joel finds out that Ellie’s immunity to the virus could help the Fireflies in making a cure, but would lead to Ellie dying. This reason alone convinced Joel to kill all the doctors and nurses operating on Ellie inside the hospital, hence saving her.  

In TLOU 2, during a flashback cutscene, Ellie visits Saint Mary’s Hospital where she finds a recording which stated that the Fireflies disbanded as the only person who could make the cure was dead (killed by Joel) and there was no hope of finding another immune person again.  

Ellie confronts Joel about the recording, insisting that if he doesn’t tell her the truth, she would leave Jackson forever. Joel finally admits that he did lie to Ellie to keep her safe, to which Ellie breaks down. Joel lied to Ellie so as to eliminate any possibility of a cure due to her immunity and also to eliminate the possibility of Ellie going back to the Fireflies and sacrificing herself for the cure.  

Does Ellie forgive Joel for what he did? 

The day before Joel’s death, Ellie and Joel have a heartfelt and emotional conversation about his decision to save her from the surgery. Joel mentions that if Lord gave him a second chance at the moment he was saving Ellie from the surgery, he would go through the journey all over again.  

Ellie replies that she could never forgive Joel for what he did but she could try. The conversation ends with an awkward goodbye between them as Joel sips coffee, satisfied with their conversation. To put it simply, she forgives Joel for his doings at Saint Mary’s Hospital.  

Even though the relationship between them in The Last of Us Part 2 seemed rather imperfect, they loved each other till the end. It is due to Ellie’s love and guilt for failing to save Joel that prompted her to chase down Abby and her friends, the people responsible for Joel’s death.  

Does Ellie get a happy ending in The Last of Us Part 2?  

Ellie does not get a happy ending in The Last of Us Part 2. Near the end of the game, a fight breaks out between Ellie and Abby which results in Ellie losing two of her fingers. She eventually brings down Abby but is unable to kill her and shows mercy.  

She chooses to forgive Abby, just like she forgave Joel for what he did back at Saint Mary’s Hospital. Abby and Lev escape with a boat, while Ellie watches them.  

Ellie returns to her farmhouse back in Wyoming, only to find out that Dina left with JJ. The house is cleared out, except for her room which contained some paintings and Joel’s guitar. Ellie sits down and tries to play the guitar, but can’t as she loses two of her fingers in her fight with Abby. The final shot of the game shows her, leaving the guitar and walking away.  

The game tells a message about the cycle of violence and how nothing good comes from it. Ellie, on her quest for revenge against Abby, lost her loved ones while Abby, on the other hand, lost all of her friends for killing Joel. It shows that both Ellie and Abby were two sides of the same coin, and both of them eventually suffer the same fate: losing their loved ones.  

About The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II is a an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game is set 5 years after the events of the first game.

Players control Ellie on her journey for revenge against The Wolves, a faction which has set up in Seattle. On her journey, Ellie fights against survivors of the Cordyceps apocalypse and new variants of the infected. The game mixes elements of stealth and gun-play in vast areas, allowing players to approach the situation as they see fit. The Last of Us Part 2 received an overall positive reception and has gone on to win several Game of the Year awards.